


always you (너잖아)

by zaroha



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Inspiration from The Walking Dead and zombie podcast We're Alive, M/M, Slow To Update, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-07-02 11:03:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15795195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zaroha/pseuds/zaroha
Summary: "Are you still there?"Jinwoo is straight out of college when a zombie apocalypse makes waves around the world. With the country on lockdown, Jinwoo finds unlikely friends in his search for safety.(Inspiration from The Walking Dead, Train to Busan and zombie podcast We're Alive)





	1. it's okay (prologue)

**Author's Note:**

> I've been facing a serious writer's block with Liar, Liar that I ended up plotting a whole new fic. The prologue is set after the events of the fic and the future chapters will go back in time to show you what happened. I'm a huge zombie fan so I'm pretty excited to write this!!

“Jinwoo?”

Jinwoo turned from the entrance steps to the building they had called home for a few months. It was dull and boring in visuals, but the memories it held were irreplaceable. 

“I’m ready,” Myungjun nodded, his rucksack tightly strapped to his back and a small carrier by his side. 

It felt like a nightmare that had finally ended. Something that was plucked right out a TV show he used to watch. A strange war that raged for almost two years was finally over. Myungjun reached his hand out to Jinwoo, who carefully accepted the pull-up, trying his best to stifle the pain of the wound that hadn’t entirely healed yet. 

“They left a letter,” Jinwoo whispered. Myungjun frowned in clear confusion. “Minhyuk and Sanha.”

“Oh,” Myungjun’s response. 

Jinwoo pulled the envelope from his pocket, now wrinkled and creased from Jinwoo’s handle. Before he can open it, a soldier approaches them. 

“Mr. Park, Mr. Kim,” A British soldier. His armband labelled him a “Relocation Staff.” “I’m here to transport you to your new living space,”

Jinwoo nodded and pocketed the letter away. The soldier leads them into a car. As the two are lead away, Jinwoo watches Myungjun surveying the area. A habit of his that he no longer needs. 

“It’s over, isn’t it?” Myungjun sighed in almost disbelief. Jinwoo noticed his eyes were already red-rimmed. 

Jinwoo takes a deep breath and then grabs Myungjun’s hand.

They were safe now.


	2. day zero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the beginning of the end of the world.

It was Seongwoo’s idea. It was their last day, of course. He gathered all the Music Composition students into one of the open fields, drinks hidden in their bottles, and they all laid on the grassy path. 

 

Jinwoo sat unnoticed within his peers, a bottle in his hand for the sake of it. He didn’t want to drink too much. He still had to travel back home, an hour bus journey, and he didn’t want to risk being a public embarrassment and enter his parent’s completely unsurprising surprise party drunk. (Thanks to one of his cousin who had accidentally messaged him the party information in a forwarded message. He caught a glimpse of the message before it was deleted and feigned ignorance when his cousin attempted to cover her tracks.)

 

“Jinjin!!” Seongwoo called out his name and practically body slammed him into a hug that almost made him drop his drink. Jinwoo instantly regrets telling him the childish nickname he had received from a friend. 

 

“Drink up, my friend” Seongwoo grinned. “A party awaits back at my place tonight!”

 

“Thanks, Seongwoo,” Jinwoo laughed and pushed his slightly drunk friend off of his shoulder. “I can’t make it tonight, I have dinner with my parents,”

 

Seongwoo pouted, before throwing an arm around Jinwoo. “It’s okay! Just make sure we meet up often enough so I can say I’m friends with a Grammy award-winning songwriter and producer!”

 

Jinwoo rolled his eyes. Seongwoo had high dreams for his cast of friends. Jinwoo was grateful for a friend that thought well of him. Even though the idea of graduating struck fear into his heart. Sure he had a couple of offers to help produce music from multiple people but there was still a fear of not achieving the dreams he had for himself. 

 

“Don’t worry, Seongwoo,” Jinwoo placed his drink on the floor. “Your name is the first I mention in my thank you speech,”

 

Seongwoo gave a dramatic gasp and fell back. “I’ll be cheering all the way from Seoul!”

 

There’s an unexpected shift in the atmosphere. Suddenly, everyone went from chatting freely to checking their phones and then turning to whoever was next to them, asking, “Did you see the news?”

 

Jinwoo had to push Seongwoo slightly, tickling him a bit, to get him to move over and retrieve his phone that was under him. There are multiple messages from his parents and other relatives begging him to come home and asking if he’s seen the news as well. He clicks the first notification he gets and it leads to a news channel link, reporting from Busan. The audio is sketchy at best, with Jinwoo having to hold the phone close to his ear to understand the report.

 

_ “Beware, viewers of shocking imagery,” the news anchor is close to tears, trying his best to keep up his professionalism. “We’re receiving reports of violent attacks in the Busan area and surrounding cities. There appear to be multiple cases of people biting and attacking each other. Busan police force are currently keeping it under control but there are reports---” _

 

At that point, Jinwoo has stopped listening to the man and his eyes focused on the video that was attached to the report. It was bloody and horrible. A man is seen attacking an elderly lady, grabbing her by the throat and does God knows what because the camera pans away at the moment of attack. Suddenly, the camera collapses and falls. The view lands to the side and Jinwoo watches in horror as the cameraman is dragged by a teenager, eyes black and skin a rotting white colour. 

 

“Jesus,” Seongwoo swears, making Jinwoo almost jump. His bright fun manner slowly fades as he puts his own drink down. “What the fuck is happening?”

 

“I don’t know,” Jinwoo shivered. Everyone around him was dispersing away. He hears someone asking for a ride home, a foreigner student is googling plane journey back to the US, someone is crying from watching the video.

 

“I think you need to give your party a little raincheck, Seongwoo,” Jinwoo said, his eyes focused more on his eye as he quickly sents safety messages to his family. 

 

Seongwoo’s phone begins to ping off as well. 

 

“Busan...” Seongwoo gulped. “Do you think it can reach Seoul?”

 

It. Whatever the hell it was, Jinwoo hoped it didn’t even take a step into Seoul. 

 

“I don’t know,” 

 

They stayed silent for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Then, Seongwoo jumped up and reached his hand out to Jinwoo. 

 

“C’mon, I’ll drop you off home,” 

 

“How much did you have to drink?” Jinwoo asked.

 

“It’s fine,” Seongwoo waved. “And besides, something tells me there’s going to be a lot of traffic,”

 

***

“C’mon, man!” Seongwoo slammed the car wheel again in an angry frenzy as yet another person drove ahead of them. Jinwoo was quietly switching between radio stations. Even the non-news stations had come to a standstill and were reporting the exact same thing. 

 

_ Hungry. Angry. Blood. Disgusting. What is causing these people to just eat another person? _

 

He’s listening to another report of another person being attacked, the audio is cut off when sounds of shots echo at the end. Jinwoo turned off the radio. Nothing was confirmed yet but everyone decided that something wasn’t quite right. So far, the reports were changing by the second. First, it was student protestors, then angry rioters. Now, it’s all up in the air. People are eating people, and no one has a single clue as to why. 

 

Jinwoo’s phone goes off. It’s his cousin. 

 

“Hello?” Jinwoo asked. 

 

“Ah- Jinwoo-ya, where are you?”

 

“I’m coming,” he said. “I’m coming home, there’s just a pile up here by the shopping centre. Me and Seongwoo will be there in half an hour,”

  
“We need you to come home right away!” His cousin’s voice is shaking, on the verge of tears. 

 

“I’m coming!”

 

“The police are here, Jinwoo! They’re asking us to evacuate-”

 

“Wait, what? Where?”

 

“I don’t know?” She’s sobbing now, Jinwoo can hear his father arguing with someone in the back. Something about staying put. 

 

“Where are they taking you?” Jinwoo raised his voice. “Maybe I’ll find you ther-”

 

“They’re not telling us!” She’s practically delirious. “Apparently, Hong SuA from down the hall got sick, the same sickness we’re seeing on the streets, that why we need to leave,”

 

“Hang on!” Jinwoo said. “Try your best to hang on, just until I get there!”

 

“Okay,” she’s quieted down to a sniffle now. “Just please come home,”

 

Jinwoo hangs up, unable to handle his cousin’s crying. 

“Jinwoo, what’s happening?” Seongwoo asked. 

 

His cousin’s words finally settled in him. His neighbour got sick. Got sick. Here. 

 

In Seoul.

 

“Seongwoo, I don’t even fucking care if you have to run someone over,” Jinwoo said. “Speed. Up. Now.”

 

Jinwoo’s voice, bubbling with anger, kicks Seongwoo into action, who begins to zoom off, not caring about speed limits and traffic cams. Seongwoo ignores the road and drives off into the grass area. People are shouting but they ignore them. Until Jinwoo realises that it’s not them they’re yelling at them.

 

Jinwoo turns as Seongwoo is driving away and his heart sank. Bile rose to his throat. 

 

“Jinwoo, you gotta tell me what’s happening, man!” Seongwoo asked. 

 

Jinwoo, himself, didn’t even know what was happening. The massive pileup they drove past. Car upon car. People climbed out to yell at each other but there were a couple of odd ones. Silent bodies. Their eyes glazed over and their movement not as fluid as the others. And then, it happened. Man grabbed man and sunk their teeth into whatever flesh was nearest.  

 

“Go. Go. GO!” Jinwoo is screaming. So loud that he didn’t think it was possible to be that loud.

 

***

 

They can’t enter Jinwoo’s neighbourhood. Too many cars and now everyone is abandoning them in favour of walking. But there was a sense of hostility. As if the person next to them was going to turn and bite the other’s face. Jinwoo can’t breathe. He’s running down the roads as fast as he can. Seongwoo close on his tail. Until he made it to his road and skidded to a stop on the curb of the street. 

 

It was empty.

 

Not just one house, one store, but the entire apartment complex. It was an eerie silence that didn’t settle well in his stomach. His family couldn’t have left. He refused to believe it. But it was as clear as day that no one occupied the street he was standing on, despite his yelling. He runs to his front door which is blown wide open. There’s a trail of rubbish that leads into his house. And inside, it’s a complete tip. His family items still there but there was a clear rush in trying to grab everything as quick as possible. Happy Graduation signs were still up on the walls. The scent of home cooking still lingered. 

 

Jinwoo is screaming again. Calling for everyone and anyone who could be there. Running from room to room until he makes it to the kitchen and on the fridge was a message. Not completed and the final words end with a long squiggle as if the writer was dragged away before finishing. 

 

Jinwoo, the army is collecting people and taking them somewhere safe. They’re taking us outside the city to Gwa--” It stops there and Jinwoo swore. Where could that be? Gwangju. Gwangjin-gu. Gwanak-gu. Gwangmyeong. All in the surrounding area of Seoul. 

 

“Jinwoo.” Seongwoo’s voice broke Jinwoo’s misery silence.

 

“They’re not here,” he said softly to himself. If only they had been quicker. Taken a different route. Not slowed down when they saw a group of schoolkids whose eyes quickly turned dark with bloodlust. 

 

Jinwoo picked up a handful of glitter that was spread across the table and let it slip through his fingers. His shoulders ached and fatigue was clearly setting in now the initial shock was wearing out. He needed to sleep. No, he needed to find his family. 

 

Jinwoo walks over to the fireplace and grabs the first family photo he can find. The most recent. And pockets it. 

 

“Seongwoo, you should go and find your family,” Jinwoo turned to his friend. It wasn't fair of him to keep him hanging, especially since Jinwoo knew he probably had his mother and father looking for him.

 

“The thing is.. Jinwoo… I don’t know where to start,” Seongwoo is close to tears and Jinwoo feels the pangs of guilt for not realising sooner. “No one is answering my calls and I can’t get through to anyone--”

 

“Hello?” A new voice causes the boys to jump in their skin. A thin woman emerged from the doorway of Jinwoo’s front door. She was in uniform and Jinwoo’s heart soars. But that is quickly shoved back down his chest when the shotgun she’s holding is aimed straight at Jinwoo's chest. 


	3. missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One mistake leads to another...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited as always.

“Woah, woah, woah,” Seongwoo stands between Jinwoo and the woman. “What the fuck man?”

 

“Put your hands up in the air now!” The woman snarled, and a longer inspection made Jinwoo realise that she wasn’t was actually a solder. Just a scared person with a gun that could go off in Jinwoo’s face. Jinwoo raises his arms slowly.

 

“We don’t want to hurt you,” Jinwoo said. “This is my home--”

 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” The woman said. “I ain’t going to hurt anyone of you. This is a safety precaution,”

 

“Well, what do you want?” Seongwoo squares up, refusing to raise his hands. 

 

“Put your hands up and I’ll just take what I need!”

 

“No fucking way man,” Seongwoo raised his voice. “You can’t just go stealing shit because the law ain’t looking now,”

 

“Well, who’s going to stop you?”

 

The boys go silent for a beat. She was right. They might be two larger boys but she was a smaller woman with a weapon that would knock them down in seconds. 

 

“Drop the weapon,” Jinwoo sputtered at the woman. His voice is shaking and he’s surprised that she even heard what he said. 

 

“Like hell I will,”

 

“Drop the weapon,” Jinwoo lowered his hands. “And you can take anything from my home,”

 

“You really think you call the shots here?” She shouted, the words came out cracked. She’s tired, Jinwoo could tell. 

 

Jinwoo shook his head. “No, I don’t. What this whole situtation will be much better solved if you didn’t have your gun pointed at me and my friend,”

 

Her hand twitched. The gun dipped but she held it tightly back up. 

 

“ _ No _ ,”

 

Suddenly, there’s a loud bang behind them. The woman turns to see what it is. Jinwoo wished Seongwoo hadn’t moved. He wished his friend had stayed put. But he made a stupid move and one that would stay with Jinwoo forever.

 

“Seongwoo, don’t---”

 

Seongwoo threw himself at the woman and Jinwoo inched forward to stop him. Everyone’s screaming in the scuffle. Jinwoo’s trying his best to pull his friend off. Seongwoo aimed for the gun. And the woman was caught between trying to push off Seongwoo and reaching for the trigger. And then the shot went off. 

 

“Oh no,” Jinwoo murmured. 

 

Seongwoo’s body slacked under his touch. No longer strong but a limp presence in his arms. 

 

“Oh, no, no, Seongwoo..” Jinwoo’s voice squeaked as he held his friend’s body. His hand, his arms, his clothes. All ready began to stain red with Seongwoo’s blood. 

 

“Why the fuck did you come at me,” the woman stammered, completely shocked that she actually pulled the trigger. 

 

“Get. Out.” Jinwoo spat, his words burning every second. Seongwoo’s face began to drain itself, the colour in his cheek slowly turning white, a sweaty sheen developed on his forehead. The woman doesn’t waste a second running. She even left the bag she was carrying. 

 

“Jinjin,” Seongwoo coughed. 

 

“It's fine,” Jinwoo murmured. He pressed his hand against the wound, a black mark on his lower abdomen, still seeping with his blood. “I’m going to get help,”

 

Jinwoo, using his free hand, reached for his mobile. He grabbed a jacket that was lying nearby and pressed it against Seongwoo’s stomach. Seongwoo hissed at the contact of the coat fabric to his skin. 

 

“Where’s your phone?” Jinwoo asked. Seongwoo weakly nodded to his chest and Jinwoo reached out and grabbed it. He called him own phone and ran to his sofa and grabbed all the pillows he could. He spends a good couple of minutes putting the pillows under Seongwoo’s head, making sure his friend is as comfortable as he can. 

 

He puts Seongwoo’s phone on speaker and then pockets his own phone, wearing his father’s bluetooth earpieces so he could continue talking to his friend without having to keep the phone to his ear at all times.

 

“Your phone will be right here,” Jinwoo explained. But he’s not sure if Seongwoo’s even listening. He’s quietly moaning but still has the strength to nod. “That way we can keep talking to each other,”

 

And like that, Jinwoo leaves Seongwoo on his own. He had hoped his friend will be safe. His house didn’t have proper stores of food or any weapons we was aware of. The street was vacant now and the street was carnage, already looking like it was picked clean. Jinwoo sighed. Hopefully, anyone walking by would see no value in this street.

 

“Do you see anyone?” Seongwoo asked. 

 

“Please, don’t speak,” Jinwoo begged.

 

“I can’t,” Seongwoo whimpered. “Otherwise, I can feel it,”

 

“Ok,” Jinwoo whispered. 

 

Jinwoo’s running down every street. The nearest health clinic was a couple of roads from his own home but the journey felt longer than it had ever before. Suddenly, the road heh turned into exploded with bullets. Jinwoo rolls to the ground and under a car. He can hear bodies sprinting past his hiding place. He rolls back out once he’s sure the coast is clear.

 

“Fuck, Jinwoo, are you okay?” Seongwoo asked. His breathing is heavy.

 

“Yeah,” Jinwoo gasped. He’s more careful with each road he turns into. “Just some dumbasses shooting the place up,”

 

“Oh,” Was all Seongwoo could say. Jinwoo could hear his friend groaning. He’s trying to conceal it but Jinwoo could hear it as clear as day. 

 

Finally, he makes it onto the right road. The road is even quieter than Jinwoo’s street. The lights are all off, even in the houses. Jinwoo catches curtains moving, not sure if it was the wind or people behind them. His legs began to wobble. He was weak, so weak. His muscles were burning with every step. Please, don’t let anyone jump out and shoot me, he thought.

 

“I’m here, Seongwoo,” Jinwoo said. But he’s too scared to tell him that they maybe no help for him. 

 

“Good,” Seongwoo restricts himself to one word responses and grunts. 

 

Jinwoo waited, breathless. It took him five minutes to work up the courage to enter the health center. He didn’t even have a weapon to help. He grabs some broken glass from the ground nearby. 

“Jinwoo?” Seongwoo said.

 

Jinwoo doesn’t respond. He pushed open the front door. A bell went off but no one came to the front, greeting him like normally. The place was empty, ransacked already. Maybe anything that could help Seongwoo was already gone. 

 

“Are you in there yet?” Seongwoo gasped. 

 

“Yes,” Jinwoo sobbed. He had made it, but it was all for nothing. And he didn’t have the heart to tell his dying friend. 

 

“Okay, Jinwoo, don’t worry, but my phone’s like a second way from dying,” Seongwoo said. “Just grabbed what we need and come back,”

 

“Seongwoo--” But the call’s already cut off. Jinwoo looked around anyway. He finds a rucksack and fills it with everything he could find. 

 

Bandages too small to fit around Seongwoo’s wound. Paracetamol that could dull his pain but wouldn’t be strong enough. There’s even a couple of throwaway bottle of water and snacks from a vending machine that was broken in. Everything was short term and nothing was suitable to heal a gun wound. 

 

He clears the place as much as he can before walking back home in a haze. How he managed to walk home without the guilt eating him up was a miracle. Once or twice he hears rustling which sets him running, not even looking to see what or who it was. He’s too dizzy and in no shape to fight back, but he gripped that glass piece tighter. 

 

Suddenly, he’s back on his street. He leaned over the street sign and vomited. Jinwoo swiped whatever remained on his mouth and walked up his street. He grimaced as he imagined the possibility of Seongwoo’s wound getting worse. But as soon as he walked to his door, the world tilted. 

 

The door was open.

And Jinwoo was sure he had shut it before he left.

 

No.

No, no no. 

 

“Seongwoo!” Jinwoo shoved the door open and ran inside. Before the terror of all the horrible things overwhelmed him. Please, don’t let him be dead. Please, say he’s still here. 

 

“Seongwoo!” Jinwoo screamed, and tore into the living room before stopping dead in his tracks. Where Seongwoo should’ve been lying with his wound was nothing. Nothing but a dark red patch.

 

He was gone. 

 

Strangled sobs rose from Jinwoo’s chest. His head was pounding. His sight was blurring. He felt his knees go weak. That’s not good, Jinwoo thought. Then he pitched over and vomited all over his mother’s new carpet.


	4. a damn mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jinwoo plays the waiting game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk what the word editing is lmao enjoy

It was just standing there. Chewing on the flesh of a body that was close to rot than it was human skin. Jinwoo swore quietly. How the fuck was he supposed to get back home when his clearest path was no longer clear? He had no weapon. The knife that was usually on his body was left at home. So his only plan was to wait it out. It had to get bored of eating the tainted flesh and go in search of something else. 

 

He slides into a small alleyway and begins to take inventory to pass time. He hid under a lid of a large industrial bin. He managed to finally break into a convenience store that was occupied already by a gang. Jinwoo didn’t know who they were but judging from the guns he often saw them with and the human lives he had seen them take, they weren’t someone to trust.

 

But today, the lookout was a newbie, Jinwoo had seen him before. A guy shorter than him with light brown hair. They don’t take him with them in their runs about town. He’s too loud. Even Jinwoo could hear him one day when he was hiding from them, under a car. They all yelled at him for scaring away an animal they were trying to catch.

 

But it made Jinwoo’s life easier. He didn’t go far into the convenience store. Taking bits and pieces that didn’t look like it was someone stealing from them. He managed to snatch a couple of granola bars, water bottles and plasters. If he had no choice but to enter someone else’s territory, he didn’t take much. His supply was draining. But it had been six months since it all happened..

 

Six months since Seongwoo was gone. Jinwoo almost went mad searching for him. How could a boy with a bleeding gun wound just up and vanish? Jinwoo sort of got his answer a week later. It was a girl. She stumbled onto his street, crying and moaning. She called out for help. Jinwoo would’ve offered until he knew he had nothing that would even come close to helping her wounds. So, instead, he hid behind his window shutters, watching her. Eventually, she collapsed in the middle of the road, not far from Jinwoo’s door. Leaving Jinwoo to watch the life drain from her. It took six hours for her to stop moving. 

 

But once she did, Jinwoo saw it happen. She got back up. Slower than before, but she had changed. She wasn’t dead, that much Jinwoo knew. But she wasn’t alive either. He hated to think that was what had happened to Seongwoo as well.

 

Jinwoo mentally reprimanded himself for not bringing a weapon out with this time. He hated waiting for them to leave. He was lucky that it was only one this time, last time it was a hoard and it ended up with him sleeping in a dumpster for the night.

 

Jinwoo stayed crouching and watched the zombie as it lingered around the street. He could probably side step his way out. It was only one but he didn’t want to take the risk. Taking risks put him in danger and he couldn’t risk anything now. The last time he hadn’t anticipating it to be so fast. It ended up with him falling down and his ankle landed weirdly. It took him two weeks before he had the courage to leave his house again. Jinwoo shuddered at the sudden memory, his hand grazing his healed ankle. But he couldn’t wait too long. The sun was setting and he had to make a choice. Run and hope it didn’t catch up or stay under this bin lid and spend the night gagging from its rotting content. 

 

“Okay,” Jinwoo whispered to himself and turned back to see where it had moved. Luckily for him, it had shifted its attention to a store sign which flickered brightly and moved slightly to the left, giving him a clear opening to the right. Jinwoo heaved himself against the lid and ran. 

 

It was pure luck at that very moment the zombie was too busy staring at a broken radio that was buzzing with static. Jinwoo’s heart jumped as he ran past. He did it!

 

Or so he thought. 

 

He turned a corner and almost swore right there. A fucking hoard. Luckily, none of them were looking Jinwoo’s way so he runs straight to the nearest apartment door. He’s not thinking, he doesn’t even check if the room’s safe. The size of the hoard was too much for Jinwoo to handle. He rushes straight up the stairs incase of any stragglers that might have seen him. All the doors upstairs are closed and Jinwoo doesn’t want to risk waking up anything that might be there. But he’s out of breath and ends up leaning against a wall. 

 

That was a damn mistake.

 

The wall, unknowingly to Jinwoo, was rotting and weak. It gave way and crumbled under his touch. Jinwoo fell fast. And landed on his shoulder. That pain makes him almost black out instantly. He stays on the floor, not making a move, waiting for his body to adjust to the shock as the dust settled around him, and for the pounding in his ribs to finally end. 

 

Jinwoo wasn’t sure how long it has been since he had fallen. The sound of the wall crumbling might have alerted one of them below so Jinwoo’s ear is listening carefully. Once his body recovered from the shock of the fall, he slowly gets up and inspects the damage. Internally, he can never tell, but any external parts seemed alright. He stretches out any crinks and decided it’ll just be a week of sleeping on his back instead of his side. 

 

Jinwoo stared into the room he fell into. Mostly empty, expect for a few canned goods, most expired but still unopened. So for Jinwoo, still edible. He pockets them very quickly. Someone had lived here recently, but any signs of it was ruined by water damage. Jinwoo uses what little he has of a shirt sleeve to cover the stench. He went on around the room, more slowly. There’s a pile of papers littered around the room and Jinwo recognises it instantly. The same message he saw repeated everywhere. He had first seen it in his first month. It was everywhere. Written on walls, painted or scratched, spray-painted some times. In the six months, Jinwoo had met loads of people, help them with the hopes of joining them so he wasn’t alone all the time. He became good at trading at the start. At first, it was for information on Seongwoo on the off chance he survived but everyone shook their heads when he showed them his picture. But everyone always had a plan. To find them. 

 

They go by a million names. No one even knows who they are. Ex-government, ex-army, some whisper to Jinwoo has he helped nurse their broken ankle and in return they gave him a hefty supply of canned goods or, if they lacked anything, information. One name was mentioned a lot more than others. The Valley. A group of people attempting to restart society for those unaffected by whatever was causing people to go zombie. At least, that’s what Jinwoo heard. There’s not much to go on and Jinwoo keeps seeing papers all over:  _ Find your way home through the Valley.  _

 

A loud crack broke through the silent house. Jinwoo flinched and jumped under the table before he breathed. Luckily, the closest thing he could find was a butter knife. It was a bit blunt but enough. He counted to ten but didn’t hear anything makes it way upstairs. But he could definitely hear voices. Three voice, all male. Their voices are muffled and the noise they’re making seems they have either have zero care for the hoard outside or its already gone. Jinwoo pushed out from the table and moves out the broken wall and leans on the stairs to hear what’s happening. The stairs creak slightly and Jinwoo jumps back. There’s no noise from downstairs that indicates they heard him. 

 

Then came the scream. An unmistakable dying cry. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the response! I'm really glad there are people who enjoy and want to read about Astro in a zombie apocalypse haha. Also, the other astro members will be introduced very, very soon ;)


	5. a dying man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a painful introduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited as always. sorry about that. will learn to work on that.

Jinwoo couldn’t move. His limbs stayed frozen as the voice echoed in his ears. Whoever was down there was hurt, and in real pain. 

 

“Dude, this is fucked up-” a voice started.

 

“I know but does it look like we have a choice?” Another interrupted. “It’s his fault for lying to Kyung Seok anyway,”

 

The first voice sighed. “So..what? We just leave him?”

 

Jinwoo had seen this happen loads of them. The weakest link in a group was usually ditched somewhere to fend for themselves. From the sounds of the other two, this seemed like good place to ditch him. 

 

“All Kyung Seok said was that we just _ end _ it,” he said. There’s clear connotation that these two were responsible to kill the third. “But I ain’t doing that shit, so let’s just leave him,”

 

Jinwoo held his breath. How brutal could someone be? Once decided, the two voices slowly disappear until the room is silent except for the grunting of a dying man. Jinwoo slowly paced down the stairs until he made it to the base. There laid a man, not much older than Jinwoo. Short brown hair, dark eyes. Maybe Jinwoo had seen him before. Jinwoo peered into the room. Even from his distance, he could see the cuts on his legs. Some aimed for sheer pain but not to the brink of death. The bloody marks were in a lattice shape over his thighs, practically shredding the front of his shorts into nothing, and what little fabric he had left were dripping in clots of blood. 

 

“Here for the final show?” the man speaks, firmly, forcing Jinwoo’s sight to his face. Jinwoo’s mouth dropped.

 

Oh, yes. Jinwoo had definitely seen this man before. Short, brown hair. A round face and, now Jinwoo could see, dark brown eyes. It was only six hours ago that Jinwoo had stolen a pack of granola bars and two bottles of water. Six hours ago Jinwoo had saw this guy asleep as he quietly stole from his gang’s stash. 

 

“What… why..” Jinwoo gasped as his eyes dropped back down to look at the wounds. Was this his fault? Was his failure to guard their food result in this?

 

“Unless, you intend to shove that knife you’re holding into my head,” the man said. “I suggest you walk out that door right now,”

 

Jinwoo dropped the knife. “No,”

 

“Well, then get walking,” the man said. “Because they’re going to send more men in a couple of hours to check if the job was done, and they don’t like strangers,”

 

“You’re not going to die,” Jinwoo said firmly. 

 

“Says who?”

 

“Me,” Jinwoo said. Words are tumbling out at this point. Sure, he’s fixed a couple of arms and cuts every now and then but this… this was extreme. He could try and stop the bleeding and maybe clean the wound. But intensity and depth of the marks were frightening. 

 

The man raises his head. “There’s no point,”

 

“That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try,”

 

“Why waste what little you have for me?” the man scoffed. “You don’t even  _ know _ me,”

 

“Right now, I know you’re a dying man unless you let me help stop the bleeding,”

 

Jinwoo stared hard. The man stared intensely back, before slowly shrugging and raising his hands in the air. 

 

“Fine, I surrender,” the man said. 

 

“Thank you,” Jinwoo stepped forward to inspect his wounds. Up close, they’re not as deep as he thought, whoever did it obviously wanted to make a mess. 

 

“Can you walk?” Jinwoo asked. “I would do it here, but, like you said, we’ll have company in a couple of hours,”

 

“It’ll hurt like hell,” the man said, and then nodded. “Yeah, I can,”

 

Jinwoo bent down to help the man lean against his body, before using all his strength to bring him standing. The man yelps but bites back a full cry. 

 

“I’m sorry!” Jinwoo cries. “I just- you’re bleeding quite a bit-”

 

“Don’t worry,” the man said, gritting his teeth. “I’ve been through worse,”

 

“Jesus, what hellhole did you come from?” Jinwoo gasped. 

 

The man shrugged, lightly before grimacing in pain. “It kept me alive, that’s all that matters,”

Jinwoo doesn’t ask anymore questions, instead all his energy is focused on bringing the man back to his house. There was a creeping doubt that he was potentially leading someone dangerous back to his house. Someone who was apart of a gang that wasn’t afraid to cut someone’s thighs to bloody shreds. But Jinwoo couldn’t just  _ leave _ him. It would eventually eat at his conscious if he knowingly left someone to die when he had the potential to help. Especially, if he maybe he was the reason the man was injured. 

 

The sun’s almost gone in the sky by the time he’s managed to drag the man back to his door. Jinwoo takes a look around the street. Empty. For now. 

 

There’s a bit of a struggle up the steps, but once they’re in the clearing, it’s more spacious. Jinwoo has moved his mother’s photo cabinets from the front of the house and had placed them over windows and weak spots in his back garden fences. Jinwoo never really ventured far in house, sticking to front. Unless there was a commotion up front, like a passing hoard or a group, then he boarded up his doors before slipping into his bedroom and waiting until they left. 

 

In the months gone by, Jinwoo had learnt to organise. He knew where everything was like the back of his hand and could even find anything in the dark. He doesn’t have much terms of electricity, a couple of hand held lights, either by battery or crank, courtesy of his family’s love for fishing. Usually, he would crank a light for a while and it would be enough for a couple hours until he fell asleep. But today, he settled for one of his few battery powered ones. He didn’t have time to crank a light out while his guest was bleeding on the floor. 

 

Jinwoo pulled out a bedsheet and quickly laid it against the wooden floor, and the man quickly rolled onto, sighing in relief from the pressure of standing for so long. Here it was going to get awkward. 

 

“I’m going to need to cut through the short,” Jinwoo murmured. 

 

“Go ahead,” the man said. “No need to be shy,”

 

“Okay,” Jinwoo said quietly, but he could feel heat rising in his cheeks. And then got to work. He uses a knife to cut through the fabric. It’s blunt but it's so moist with his blood that the fabric basically falls through. Now, he can take a good look.

 

“Luckily, for you, this isn’t as deep as I thought it would be,” Jinwoo said, as he wiped the blood from his thighs. The bleeding must’ve stopped as they were walking over and now it was a crusty mess. So Jinwoo spent most of his time wiping the blood away. It causes the cuts to open up slightly but there wasn’t much he could do. He’s surprised at the man’s ability to handle the pain. He’s not making much noise apart from the grunt or a groan that tries really hard to not do.

 

“Yeah, that little dramatic moment I had back then was an act,” the man shrugged. “Those two back there are weak as shit. I could shed one tear and it would’ve sent them running,”

“Were they your friends?”

 

“Not really, I would say we’re as close as us right now,” the man said, and his eyes dropped to Jinwoo’s hands on his thighs, wiping the blood and pushing pressure on his cuts. “Well, not as  _ close _ as us,” 

 

Jinwoo giggled. “Oh yeah, we’re practically married at this point,”

 

“Hey, this isn’t the greatest time to ask while your hands are up in my area,” The man said. “But what’s your name?”

 

“Jinjin,” Jinwoo replied. It’s the name he gives every time. No matter how safe they looked, he had never given “Jinwoo” up.

 

“You can call me MJ,” the man replied back. “Thanks for saving my life, Jinjin,”

 

At that same time, Jinwoo poured antiseptic  liquid over the wound, which caused MJ to launched forward, hunching over, withering in pain.

 

“Sorry! Ah, sorry, please don’t die on me,” Jinwoo apologized, quickly, dabbing the liquid over the wound. At this point, he wasn’t even sure what he was doing. 

 

“Well, that’s one way to get someone’s attention,” MJ groaned, but Jinwoo could hear a little chuckle. “Next time, warn me,”

 

“Will do,” Jinwoo nodded, and then sat back. “I’m gonna wrap as much as I can, I don’t have much dressing but it’ll do,”

 

MJ nodded. “Whatever works best, doctor,”

 

The two go silent for a while as Jinwoo does his best to wrap the dressing around MJ’s thighs. He searches around the house until he finds a blanket to place over MJ’s thighs. It’d be a day or so before Jinwoo would want him to risk putting on a new pair of shorts that wouldn’t get ruined with blood. By then, MJ is dozing off, his head leaning against the sofa. 

 

Jinwoo goes to the bathroom and does his best to wipe the blood off his hands. He even sacrifices what little wet wipes he has to do so. It was either that or use his hard earned water that took four weeks of rain to fill. 

 

He returns back to the main room where MJ was knocked out. He hadn’t managed to get him to have a paracetamol before he fell asleep so he leaves two by his side with a bottle of water. Tonight, Jinwoo opts to sleep on the sofa. His head opposite where MJ was leaning. He leaned back on the sofa waiting for his body to relax and fall asleep. He was too tense. He found himself staring at the crown of MJ’s head. He thought of the blood he was covered in, the pain in his voice as he limped alongside him. Usually, people found Jinwoo, but never had Jinwoo found someone else. 

 

_ What _ , Jinwoo thought to himself,  _ am I doing? _


	6. MJ's Plan.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MJ's plan leaves Jinwoo to make a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloooo, happy new year, i'm finally coming back to both my fics. I absolutely love this work and I already have so much planned for this.

MJ is crying when Jinwoo wakes up. He tries his best to cover his sobs but he accidentally releases a loud groan in his cry that wakes Jinwoo up. Rather than waking immediately, he shuffles in his sleep, allowing MJ to collect himself.

 

After a few moments, he pulls himself up and turns to Myungjun. Tears clearly gone, traces still visible.

 

“Hey, you okay?” Jinwoo asked.

 

“Yeah,” MJ coughed, and shuffled in his spot. “My legs just really sore,”

 

 

Jinwoo looked down at his legs. Luckily, the bleeding had stopped. Or he thought. The bandages he used weren't totally soaked in blood so he guessed the bleeding must've stopped during the night. Parts of it were crusting, and nothing looked too bad. Yet. 

 

Now for the hard part. Small talk. 

 

"Want some?" Jinwoo asked, offering the crumbling granola bar to MJ. In that split second, he realises he was offering the very bar that Jinwoo had stolen from him only yesterday. It was the closest thing to them, in Jinwoo's backpack. "I can find - something more filling later, if you want,"

 

"I'm good for now," MJ said. Jinwoo puts the bar down and begins to tidy up the area. He picks up extra bandages, bottles of water, and rubbish that he left lying around. 

 

"Thank you," MJ spoke suddenly. "Anyone else would've left me for dead yesterday,"

 

"It's no problem," Jinwoo said. He picked up his blanket, folded it, before placing in onto a shelf. 

 

"But why do you do it?"

 

"What?" Jinwoo frowned. 

 

"Everyone's trying to save their own ass," MJ said, coughing loudly which causes him to grimace in pain. "And here you are, saving everyone else's."

 

Jinwoo doesn't respond immediately. Its a little complicated, a little weird to anyone else, but its worked for him so far.

 

"Trade," Jinwoo stated. 

 

"Trade?" This time it was MJ's turn to frown. 

 

"In return for helping, people trade me stuff," Jinwoo motioned to his home. He's received more medicine, food and clothes in return for helping people who stumble by. 

 

"I don't think I have anything to give you," MJ said, his eyes diverted to his mangled thighs. "Sorry,"

 

"But there is something you can give me," Jinwoo said. His hands tightened over the cloth in his hand. "Information,"

 

"What do you need?" MJ asked.

 

"What ever you'll give me," Jinwoo said. "But, first, I have questions,"

 

MJ nodded, leaned back, and stared at Jinwoo. "Fair enough,"

 

Jinwoo moved to sit at the table, opposite where MJ was practically mummified. 

 

"Who did that to you?" Jinwoo gestured to his thighs.

 

"Kyungseok," MJ said, quickly. "He's the leader of what ever the hell our group was,"

 

"And why?"

 

"I think you know why," MJ lowered his gaze. Jinwoo's eyes diverted from the boy. MJ gives out a little breathy laugh. He reaches to the granola bar that Jinwoo left near him, opening the packet and letting the grains falls to his lap. 

 

"I thought I was losing my mind when I saw you," MJ continued. "My mind was just making it up. Both times you know."

 

"Both?"

 

"I woke up just as you were running away," MJ said, chewing on the bar. "It didn't really click into my mind that you were the one I was supposed to report until you were fixing up my leg,"

 

"That- means that was," Jinwoo stammered, looking to MJ's legs. "That was my fault,"

 

"It's not," Myungjun frowned. 

 

"No," Jinwoo stood up. "The reason your leader hurt you was because I managed to steal something and get away, right?"

 

MJ doesn't answer, his silence is enough. 

 

"But, what the fuck," Jinwoo gasped. "All I stole was some water and bars?! How does this justify that?"

 

"Trust me when I say Kyungseok and I haven't been on the same page for a while now," MJ said. "You gave him the opportunity to do the inevitable,"

 

"Why were you with those people?" Jinwoo asked. And are you like them as well? he thought. Suddenly, fear flooded his mind. Has he finally let the wrong person in?

 

 

"I'm not," MJ leaned up. "I swear,"

 

 

"Why didn't you report me?" Jinwoo asked. "You saw me and the direction I was running in,"

 

 

MJ shook his head. "I can't do it." His arms are wrapped around him, gripping his body tightly. "What they do to people they find... I never report anyone I find,"

 

 

Jinwoo breathed, took a sip of water, before finally reaching for the wallet in his pocket. There was no money, nothing of value in it any more, except one photo. 

 

 

"Have you seen this boy?" Jinwoo asked, he walked over to MJ, passing him the polaroid of him and Seongwoo. It was from graduation day. Jinwoo had meant to take a solo shot but Seongwoo jumped in at the final second, his face and smile was bright and clear. It was a snapshot that warmed Jinwoo's heart. 

 

 

"No," MJ shook his head. 

 

 

"You sure, not even when you were on guard duty?" Jinwoo urges him to take a look closer. _Dead or alive,_ Jinwoo thought. His mind long accepted that Seongwoo might possibly be dead, but that didn't stop his heart searching until he was certain.  

 

 

"I think I would notice a pretty boy like him," MJ passed the photo back. Jinwoo felt a blush creep up on his cheeks. "Was he your boyfriend?"

 

 

"No," Jinwoo stammered. "My best friend,"

 

 

"Okay," MJ said. "Is that all, officer?"

 

Jinwoo nodded. "Your turn."

 

"There's not much," MJ shrugged. "I join Kyungseok's group in the early days. My cousin and I joined because we were really good at going through the city undetected,"

 

"Really?"

 

"We didn't mean to stay there for long," MJ nodded. "The group soured quickly, and my cousin managed to escape in one of the breakouts we had early on,"

 

"And you didn't join him?"

 

"It was the spur of the moment," MJ shrugged. "It was still safer there than where he was going,"

 

The uncertainty of this location meant Jinwoo knew exactly what he was talking about. 

 

"The Valley," Jinwoo sighed. MJ nodded. "Everyone who comes here say they're searching for them,"

 

"I thought it was fake at first," MJ explained. "A hoax to keep people believing,"

 

"Isn't it?" Jinwoo frowned. 

 

"No," MJ shook his head. "It isn't,"

 

"How can you be so certain?"

 

"Because my cousin, Minhyuk, the one who ran away," MJ said. "He's there, and he came back to tell me,"

 

Jinwoo almost dropped his bottle of water, catching it at the last second before it could spill. 

 

"Why didn't he take you then," Jinwoo shook his head. This isn't real, he thought, he was lying. 

 

"Kyungseok runs a tight ship now that we've lost so many people," MJ explained. "We have rollcall in the morning, midday and evening."

 

"To make sure everyone is accounted for all day?"

 

"Yeah, that way he can know when they leave and catch up to them quicker," MJ nodded. "He doesn't take runaways kindly,"

 

"But I moved you yesterday," Jinwoo said. "How do we know he isn't on my doorstep right this very second?"

 

"But he doesn't know where you are," MJ explained. "And that blood stain I left, along with the marks we made leaving? Hell, it looks like I woke up a zombie and made it out of there."

 

"Okay, but how do you know where to find these Valley people?" Jinwoo asked. "Those posters I see are so cryptic,"

 

"That's the point," MJ said. "Minhyuk warned me that they leave messages all over just so selfish people like Kyungseok can't make their way and pillage everything,"

 

MJ digs into his jacket pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper. He unfolds to reveal a badly drawn but eligible map. 

 

"He left me this," MJ said. "He's not allowed to give me much, whoever leads them forbids them to do so until they prove themselves,"

 

Jinwoo takes the map. The first point isn't far off from Jinwoo's house. Half hour by car, but he doesn't have one anymore. So he'd be walking on foot, with an injured MJ. 

 

"What's waiting there?" Jinwoo asked. 

 

"These people have compounds all over," MJ said. "These people will lead us to wherever we need to go,"

 

"This... is a lot," Jinwoo sighed. 

 

"I know, Jinjin," MJ nodded. "But it's a good shot out of here,"

 

"So you're going," Jinwoo said. "Once you've healed,"

 

"Well, I thought you might want to come," MJ asked. "You have skills, Jinjin. They'd appreciate you there, you'd be helping a lot more people,"

 

Jinwoo stared at the paper intensely.

 

"And..." MJ added. "It'd be a good place to start looking for your friend. This is where everyone is going,"

 

Jinwoo doesn't mention the bullet wound his friend suffered. But if Seongwoo did manage to find help, this place sounded like the right place he would go in search of Jinwoo. If he hadn't left that day, maybe they'd be in search of that place together. 

 

Jinwoo sat down next to MJ, shoulders touching, as his hands lingered over the paper. There's a note from his cousin scribbled on the paper. See you soon, hyung. Jinwoo pulled out a bag of peanuts and offered them to MJ. 

 

"So... what now?" he asked. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk what's with me and always making myungjun and minhyuk cousins lmao


End file.
